


Combustible

by NanakiBH



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Sexual Frustration, Teasing, Wet Clothing Kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 11:02:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9381626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NanakiBH/pseuds/NanakiBH
Summary: It's stupidly hot in Duscae, so Noctis decides to cool off by adding fuel to the fire.





	

**Author's Note:**

> What's there to say about this? The concept was "car wash". Thank my Twitter TL.

It was hot. Duscae was always hot, but it was feeling especially hot.

Noctis had never wondered what it would feel like to dive head-first into an active volcano, but it felt like Duscae was determined to give him an approximate simulation of what that would feel like. He really wished it would knock it off since Mt. Ravatogh was still somewhere on the schedule. He had the feeling that the real volcano would be preferable to what he was experiencing at that moment, sitting in the hot leather back seat of the Regalia.

They were stopped outside the nearby Hammerhead, parked in the spot on the side next to the air pump station. Prompto and Gladio were inside the gas station, but Noctis didn't envy them. They had the doors open, meaning that the building wasn't air conditioned. They probably had fans, but the inside was bound to be suffocatingly stuffy. He felt bad for whoever worked there. Being outside in the open air sounded preferable in comparison, even if he was sitting under the beating sun.

He hadn't gotten up to go in, but Prompto had run back out at one point to drop off a few cold sodas and bottles of water with him to make sure that he and Ignis wouldn't pass out in the heat.

Ignis, the madman, was determined to give the Regalia a bath. Noctis didn't understand how he could find the motivation for it. He could barely move his arms and legs, feeling like hot and sticky jello stuck to the back seat, but Ignis looked like he was still holding it together despite the sweltering temperature. There was a light sweat over his brow, but his hair was still perfect. It was frustrating how flawless he could look even under the most stressful conditions.

While Ignis gathered what he needed from the trunk to clean the car, Noctis layed back and tried to make himself comfortable. Even closing his eyes, the sun felt like it was right there, tearing holes in his eyes from the other side of his eyelids. It was pointless to even try to nap. If he managed to fall asleep, he'd probably pass out and die from heatstroke and nobody would even know until they were twenty miles away.

“This is terrible,” he muttered, sitting up.

Ignis gave him a somewhat sympathetic look as he passed by his door with a bucket and sponge. “You should go inside for now. It's going to be a while before we get to the next stop. You could use a break from the heat.”

“We have air conditioning, don't we?” Noctis asked, then slowly narrowed his eyes at himself as he realized that he'd forgotten that was even an option. All they did was complain about the heat. They could've had the top up and the air on, but maybe they just loved complaining too much to care about their comfort. That was concerning.

Ignis lifted the hand with the bucket and awkwardly pushed up his glasses with the heel of his palm. Sweating seemed to make them more likely to slip down his nose. “We can't run it all the time. Keeping the top down improves fuel efficiency.”

“Yeah, but once in a while...”

“We have a long way to drive,” Ignis said, giving him a look that gave him no room to argue. He didn't look very comfortable, though. Even if he couldn't say it, he probably wanted to use the air conditioning, too.

Noctis sighed. “Fine.” He kicked his feet up onto the center console and tried to resituate himself to get comfortable, but it was impossible. The backs of his knees were sweating and his pants and shirt were sticking to him, yet moving around and spreading out didn't seem to help relieve the sticky feeling.

Noticeably, Ignis hadn't moved to start washing the car yet. He was still standing at the side of the car, watching him with that sympathetic look on his face.

“Do you want to stay here tonight? They have a caravan we can rent.” He tried to cover up his concern by looking away, pushing up his glasses again with the side of his shoulder. “I don't want you to melt.”

The caravans were alright... They weren't the best lodgings, but they had enough appealing points to make up for what they lacked. They gave them a safe place to stay the night in a relaxing, casual atmosphere. It was pretty fun to sit outside and play games with the others after the sun went down. Ignis was able to use the stoves inside, so they could have a home-cooked meal. The caravans were small, though, so there was always only one bed. Whenever they stayed at one, Prompto and Gladio slept on the fold-out couches while he and Ignis slept in the back.

He was glad that he and Ignis had been attached since they were children. Nobody questioned it when they stayed in the same room and slept in the same bed.

“Hmm...” His brain was turning into microwaved mush by the second. He could barely think about the question. For a while there, he forgot that Ignis was waiting for a response. “Nah. Let's just keep pushing through. I want to make it feel really satisfying once we finally get to a hotel. Imagining a cold shower is already making me feel better.”

Mind over matter... Mind over matter...

...Nope. Shit. Still hot.

“Maybe I should take my shirt off,” he mused aloud, covering his eyes with the back of his arm. Ignis continued to stare, like he was waiting for him to do it. “I was just... talking. I'm not really going to take my shirt off. Come on. You know me better than that.”

“I'm not going to encourage you to undress. Do what makes you comfortable.”

“I'm so hot right now, I can't even tell if that was a come-on,” Noctis said, feet slipping off the console. His heels hit the carpeted floor and heat immediately rose up through his soles. He would have gotten up to pull his shoes off, feeling extra frustrated, but he didn't even have the energy to do that much, so he just stayed where he was, melting into the upholstery.

He didn't look up, but he heard Ignis sigh. Sounded like he set down the bucket. A second later, Noctis jumped when he felt something cold touch his cheek.

“At least drink something,” he said, tapping him in the cheek with the shockingly chilly side of a soda can.

Noctis took it from him and finally pushed himself back up. As Ignis went back to what he was doing, picking up his empty bucket, Noctis popped the can and took a long drink from it. It was some kind of cherry cola... Not exactly his favorite kind, but he was too hot to care about preference. He held the can to his forehead and watched as Ignis picked up the hose provided by the station and used it to fill the bucket with water.

Once the bucket was full of soapy water, Ignis straightened up and used the back of his arm to wipe his forehead.

Suddenly, Noctis didn't feel so exhausted anymore.

He took another idle sip as he watched Ignis get to work. There were some things in his life that he took for granted, he realized. Ignis was many of those things. Noctis was so used to having him around; doing his laundry, tidying his room, cooking his dinner, driving him here and there, assisting him in battle... Ignis was capable of just about anything he set his mind to; a jack-of-all-trades, a master of everything. Expecting him to excel at everything, it was easy for Noctis to forget just how extraordinary he was for it.

And he managed to make everything look so damn _sexy._ It couldn't have been intentional, so that was part of why it was so easy to take it for granted. Ignis put effort into his every job, but his attractiveness was effortless.

Ignis's sleeves were already rolled up. For some reason, he looked really good like that...

Noctis tilted his head and tried to figure out why that was so appealing.

He looked down at himself. Flexed an arm, tried to see if his muscles would make his shirt do that _thing_ – that thing where the fabric would get pulled tight and show off the shape of his arm.

Unfortunately, it wasn't quite the same. He looked between himself and Ignis and felt glad that Ignis was already busy washing the front end of the car so he wouldn't notice him embarrassingly comparing himself. Noctis sat up in his seat a bit and took another sip as he watched Ignis lean across the hood.

It was some kind of forbidden combination of a tight shirt and tight muscles...

Specifically, a long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

“Need something?” Ignis asked, lifting his head to look at him over the windshield.

Noctis dismissively waved a hand in the air to say it was nothing and kept watching. He didn't feel like explaining what he was thinking about yet. He didn't have any problem telling Ignis – not in particular. If he told him right then, he knew he would just run the risk of making Ignis feel self-conscious, and if he did that, he was worried that Ignis would stop what he was doing, or, worse, make him leave the relative comfort of the Regalia so he could put his attention elsewhere.

Ignis didn't ask twice. He gave him a suspicious look, then retrieved the soapy sponge from the bucket and returned to scrubbing the hood. Every time he bent lower, Noctis raised himself up in his seat a bit, trying to get a better view. From the hood, Ignis gradually made his way around the car, paying special attention to the places that would have been overlooked by a simple automatic car wash. Before he began, Ignis had told him that he wanted to make the Regalia sparkle brighter than she had the first time they drove her. After all, she was just as much a member of his retinue as Ignis and the others. Wherever they went, she had to look beautiful because she was a representative of the king.

Thinking of the Regalia in those terms, like a person, made Noctis see Ignis's meticulous treatment of her in a... more... _sensual_ light.

The Regalia was just a car. But Noctis couldn't help finding himself feeling strangely jealous.

Jealous of a car... There had to be something severely wrong with him to even think such a thing, but... As he watched Ignis, following the movements of his hand back and forth over the dusty, dull-looking surface of the Regalia, he couldn't help wondering what it would have been like if he were the one beneath that soapy sponge.

Ignis didn't spare an inch of her, covering every dirty corner in soap suds. Since the top was still down, Ignis told him to watch himself as he returned to where he started and exchanged the sponge for the hose. He was careful to avoid getting the interior wet, but Noctis still felt a light misting from it as Ignis sprayed down his side of the car. Part of him wanted to grab Ignis by the wrist and make him spray him right in the face with it, but his limbs were still liquified and refused to budge, so that fantasy had to remain a fantasy.

When he was finished, Ignis took a breather. Noctis watched, trying to keep his face neutral as Ignis took a handkerchief from his back pocket and used it to dry his forehead and neck. It was the simplest thing that probably could have looked disgusting had it been anyone else, but there was something undeniably sensual about the way he sighed as he slowly ran the handkerchief down his neck. His fingers stopped just shy of the dip of his shirt where Noctis was able to catch a glimpse of the pendant on his necklace nestled between his glistening pecs.

“Uh...”

Ignis snapped to attention. “Something the matter?” he asked, sounding oblivious to the discomfort he was causing him.

Staring still, Noctis just shook his head. “Hm? I didn't say anything. Carry on.” He pointed to the windshield. “You missed a spot.”

“All in due time. I simply haven't gotten there yet. This heat makes it difficult to do anything quickly.”

He said that, but the job he'd done on the Regalia hadn't been anything short of fast and efficient. Despite the light sweat on his skin, he was still looking cool and composed and ready for business. Noctis wished he had his kind of fortitude.

Picking up the sponge, Ignis got back to work. He started from the corner of the windshield and worked his way inward, spreading fluffy white bubbles over the transparent surface. Before it could be covered completely, Noctis leaned forward, trying to steal a glance of him from beneath the windshield.

From that angle, he looked... Really good.

Noctis felt something in the pit of his stomach tightening like a knot as he watched him from that vantage point, sweating as the front of Ignis's shirt gaped as he leaned forward to reach the middle of the windshield. He moved his arm in an arc and the fabric of his white shirt pulled tight across his chest. For a second, Noctis thought he might've been imagining things, but when Ignis leaned forward again, there was no doubt about it anymore. He got some of the soapy water on the front of his shirt and when he leaned and pressed up against the windshield, Noctis's eyes were treated to a glimpse of a rosy nipple beneath his damp, see-through shirt.

He probably should've told him about it. A friend would've told him. But Noctis didn't want to embarrass him.

And his eyes enjoyed watching.

Sadly, within seconds, Ignis noticed his wet shirt. He cursed softly under his breath and rubbed his gloved hand over the spot, but that only seemed to make matters worse, making more of his skin visible.

In that case, deciding that he might as well quit hiding his interest, Noctis reached out and put his drink in one of the holders in the front, then jumped over the center console to hop into the driver's seat. More often than not, he let Ignis take the wheel, so it always felt unusually intimate to be sitting there, as if that spot belonged to Ignis. Without saying a word, Noctis leaned his elbows on the steering wheel and put his chin in his palms to continue watching him.

“Oh, for heaven's sake...” Ignis muttered, giving him a flustered glare from the corners of his eyes. “Why didn't you say anything? I've made a right mess of myself.”

“Didn't want you to blame me for how red you were gonna get. See?” Noctis tapped his own cheek to illustrate. “You're blushing.”

While it looked like he caught him off guard there for a second, Ignis recovered surprisingly fast. That blush remained, but after closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he returned to being his usual calm and composed self. Something about that felt kind of dangerous. Noctis suddenly got the distinct feeling that he'd walked himself into a trap.

“I s'pose there's no helping it now,” Ignis said with an air of indifference. Before anything else, he looked over his shoulder and glanced at the corner of the gas station building as if to be sure that Prompto and Gladio weren't on their way out; the only indication that he was concerned about what he was going to do. With that out of the way, he bent to get the sponge wet, giving Noctis a nice look at his long legs, then resumed his work.

He must've figured that if his shirt was already wet, then he might as well go all the way with it and let him enjoy the show. It was odd for him to act so forward. He must have been feeling awfully indignant. And the others weren't around to see. And it was a situation that could be easily excused if they walked around the corner and found him wet and covered in foamy bubbles.

Knowing Ignis, he'd probably blame him for it somehow, too.

Noctis realized that he'd played himself.

And, realizing that, he gave up on caring about the consequences. Ignis was providing him with the kind of fantasy fuel that would last him _years._ All things considered, it was quite kind of him.

Ignis barely needed the sponge when he was pressing himself up against the windshield, getting his shirt all wet. As more of his white, striped shirt became wet, more and more skin was revealed, leaving little to the imagination. The windshield was more than clean on the driver's side. Once Ignis was 'done' with that side, he slid back and stood up straight, looking down at his disheveled appearance with a feigned look of annoyance.

Eyes locked on Noctis, Ignis brought his hands to the front of his shirt. Not only was Noctis uncomfortably hot, he was also beginning to squirm in his seat, unnerved by his inability to control his own body's stupid reactions. He had no idea that Ignis was going to take things so far. Once he noticed the way the front of his pants were tightening, Noctis went from thinking Ignis was being kind to thinking that he was being unusually cruel.

“Kn-knock it off, would you?” he muttered, trying to pry his eyes away as Ignis unbuttoned his shirt. As if compelled, his eyes snapped back to him, watching as his skilled fingers slipped each button through their holes, all the way down.

“It's fortunate that I can take my shirt off in such a place without making a scene,” Ignis said, remarking on his advantage while making it sound deceptively innocent.

Noctis clicked his tongue. “I'm going to be the one making a scene at this rate...”

He shouldn't have voiced his thoughts out loud because he gave himself an idea. It was probably a bad idea, but...

He opened the door and stepped out. With a glance around them, Noctis made sure no one else was watching, then snatched the hose off the ground. Ignis gave him a rightfully apprehensive look. There were only a few things he could have had in mind with a hose in hand. Even if people saw them, he didn't really care. At worst, a bystander would assume they were just playing around. The situation really did afford them the best excuses.

“Now, Noct...” Ignis warned, taking a wary step back.

Noctis shrugged a shoulder and gave him a devious grin. “Hey, it's rude of me to just sit there and not help, right? You've gotta wash that soap off.”

And with that, he raised the nozzle, aimed, and fired.

The strong, cold spray hit Ignis square in the chest. He recoiled immediately and doubled over like he got shot, shouting about how cold it was, swearing he was going to get revenge – while laughing all the while. Internally, Noctis praised himself for being able to read the mood. It may have been ages since they'd played around like that, but he knew that Ignis wasn't without a fun side. He may have looked like the strict, by-the-books type, but that was just the clever illusion he projected to others.

After Noctis stopped spraying, Ignis coughed and tried to pretend like he wasn't still laughing. Lifting his glasses, he rubbed his eyes and stifled a few more chuckles before turning an intimidating eye toward Noctis. “Now, then...” He approached slowly with a hand outstretched, expecting him to quietly hand the hose over.

“N-not so fast,” Noctis said, fearing what that look meant. He backed up and raised the nozzle, pointing it at his temple.

“Really?”

“Don't test me,” he said. “I'll do it. I'll really do it!”

Ignis took back his hand and crossed his arms. “Alright.”

Confused, Noctis stared, nozzle still pointed at his head. “...Really? You aren't going to try to stop me? You aren't gonna... try to wrestle it from me or anything, even?”

“Wrestle it from you?” Ignis gave a sarcastic laugh. “As if I'd have to do anything so physical.”

It was a lot easier than that for him. Leaving his wet shirt hanging open, he took a few slow steps forward, basically _sauntering_. He lifted a hand and lightly touched Noctis's wrist with his fingertips with just the barest of touches. When he was standing that close, Noctis's eyes gravitated toward his face, finding it difficult to look anywhere else, and watched the way his tongue darted out to trace his upper lip. All of that probably occurred within the span of a second, but, for that second, time completely stood still.

He didn't have to wrestle it from him at all. The next second, the hose was back in Ignis's hand.

“That was cheating,” Noctis muttered.

“Cheating?” Ignis held the end of the nozzle to his chin, pretending to be in deep thought. “It looked to me like you were just standing there, waiting for me to take it from you. Speaking of which, if you just keep standing there looking slack-jawed, you aren't going to be able to dodge.”

“Dodge...?”

...He shouldn't have asked.

Noctis received a point blank shot of cold water to the face as retribution. He stumbled back, sputtering, and nearly tripped over the bucket, narrowly catching his balance by grabbing the side of the Regalia. Ignis took mercy on him and relented. When Noctis finally caught his breath and wiped the water from his eyes, he noticed a hand being held out to him. That time, he gratefully grasped it and used it to pull himself back up, then pulled Ignis closer and arrested the hose from him.

“Wait, Noct-”

Ignis flinched, but Noctis didn't have any intention of shooting him with it again.

He turned the nozzle back on himself and sprayed himself in the chest.

“This is so good!” he sighed. It was just as satisfying as he'd imagined. The cold water felt fantastic. He only got his shirt wet, so getting back into the Regalia wasn't going to be a big deal despite that somewhat disapproving stare Ignis was giving him for it. “Hey, let me have this,” Noctis said. “Watching you wipe down the windshield was putting me in need of a cold shower.”

Ignis looked like he had a rebuttal on his tongue, but he let it go with a sigh. He knew that he wasn't to blame for that and he wisely knew that arguing with him amounted to taking the bait. Noctis was just messing with him.

Instead, Ignis went to his things and retrieved a set of cloths. He passed one to Noctis. “This ought to help you take your mind off your... predicament,” he said, taking a suggestive glance downward at Noctis's growing problem.

As if watching Ignis dry the car while wearing a drenched shirt was going to help him in the slightest.

As soon as Ignis turned around, Noctis whipped him in the backside with the towel.

“You and me. Next stop. Payback.”

He was getting seriously frustrated. It was unfair of Ignis to keep teasing him while they were out in public where there was nothing he could do about it.

Just when Noctis thought he might have a chance to cool his head, they were finally interrupted.

“Heyo! We're back! Are you done washing the car, Ignis? You wouldn't believe the awesome deal they had on-”

Prompto stopped talking mid-sentence and froze in place with a bag from the gas station full of who-knows-what in hand. Behind him, Gladio came to a stop only after nearly running into Prompto's back. They both stared, eyes swiveling from one to the other, scrutinizing their suspicious appearances.

Noctis used the hand he had on the car to lift himself over the door and slid back into his seat, praying that he was quick enough to avoid them noticing any other unusual things about his appearance. Trying to affect a casual air, he rested his elbow out the window and gestured for them to get in. Thankfully, neither of them asked what happened, though Prompto had a lot of fun making up what he thought happened, at one point suggesting a scenario that sounded uncomfortably close to what actually happened.

Once they had everything packed up and squared away and everyone was back in the car, they set off for their next destination.

Ten minutes down the highway, when the car became quiet, Gladio absorbed in his book, Prompto playing with his phone, Noctis sat up and leaned close to the driver's seat.

“You've got something coming,” he whispered.

Without saying anything in response, Ignis just turned his head and kissed him on the cheek where no one could see. Then he calmly returned his eyes to the road.

So the battle of wits continued.

Noctis sunk back into his seat and stared up at the sky. No matter what, every victory was temporary. The warm tingling in his heart was the mark of defeat. His cycles of wins and losses was bound to repeat.

He sighed. Smiled.

It was damn hot.


End file.
